


What’s in a Name?

by SilverScaler3000



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Obadiah Stane (Marvel), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Asphyxiation, Choking, Doom is a Dick, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Obadiah Stane is ALSO a dick, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Protective Loki (Marvel), Tender Loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-02-22 22:03:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23967766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverScaler3000/pseuds/SilverScaler3000
Summary: It had been such a little thing, the use of his name.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 104
Kudos: 189





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [STARSdidathing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/gifts).



> This is just a cute little fic I started writing when I got out the shower this morning. Normally that’d be a weird statement, but I think we can all agree that the pandemic has done a lot of strange things to us. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Don’t throw me, Loki please don’t throw me!”

It had been such a little thing, the use of his name.

Loki had been fighting alongside Doom against the Avenger’s - a debt he detested paying but did all the same - and suddenly Stark had been without his armor. The leader of Latveria had failed to inform Loki of this part of the plan; a bug implanted in the mortals' defenses to make them come undone. Yes, the goal had been to separate the inventor from his comrades, but the purpose had not been privy to him.

Doom did not think him ‘trustworthy’ of that information. 

It had been briefly amusing to watch Stark’s look of utter shock when his suit fell around him piece by piece, but then Doom grasped him by the neck, and everything changed in an instant. As the dictators fingers dug into Stark’s throat, lifting him into the air, shock quickly twisted into horror and despair. He clawed at the metal appendage whilst Doom laughed, but it was to no avail.

Loki frowned, finding Doom’s behavior rather boorish. He opened his mouth to object to this obvious waste of their time, but before he could say anything Stark began babbling, pleading, not to Doom, but to _him_.

“Please Loki, god no, please,” he gasped, eyes clouded by fear and not appearing to focus on anything. “Please don’t throw me, please I can’t, Loki please god don’t-”

“Silence,” Doom spat, shaking him. Stark didn’t listen, perhaps he couldn’t, and Loki watched as Doom’s grip tightened; the mortals lips turning a frightful shade of blue whilst tears tracked down his face. 

“That is quite enough,” Loki snapped, grabbing the dictator's arm and forcing it to lower so that Stark's feet touched the ground. 

Doom turned to glare at him. “Doom does not take orders from you,” he sneered in reply, ignoring Stark’s wheezing attempts to get much needed oxygen into his lungs. He still hadn’t loosened his grip on the inventor's throat. 

“I said,” Loki growled, hands glowing green as Seider wrapped around them, “That’s enough!”

He blasted Doom away, uncaring of where the man fell as he caught Stark. He gently lowered him to the ground, careful not to touch his neck. The mortal was gasping, sobbing and trembling in his arms.

“Loki, Loki don’t-” he hiccuped once he had the breath to do so, shaking all the harder as more tears fell down his face.

“I will not harm you,” Loki promised softly, cradling Stark close to his chest. “I swear I won’t.”

Apparently Loki had knocked Doom unconscious (or perhaps killed him), seeing as how the mechanical automaton’s he had sent to distract the Avengers started behaving like puppets cut from their strings. It gave the hero’s time to notice Stark’s predicament, and they began shouting, demanding Loki release him. Loki paid them no mind, opting instead to place a hand against Stark’s temple. He murmured a spell into the mortal's ear, wiping away the terror and ordering his mind to sleep. 

Stark’s breathing instantly calmed, his face relaxing into that of someone deep in peaceful slumber. Loki found himself sighing with relief. He placed the man gently on the ground, teleporting himself to safety only once the Avengers were upon them both.   
  
  


“Play it again.”

Jarvis stayed silent as he complied, having learned not to object after the third time his creator told him to replay the video. 

“ _That is quite enough.”_

Tony still couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Even when his armor had been rendered useless, the camera on his faceplate had continued to document. It had captured everything: Tony’s panic attack, his near death by Doom’s hand, Loki coming to his rescue-

“ _I said that’s enough!_ ”

Everything. 

“Again,” he repeated, frowning as he stared at the screen in frustration. It couldn’t be real. It had to be an illusion, a trick. 

“ _I will not harm you._ ”

It was fake. 

“Again.”

Loki was evil. He didn’t save ‘pathetic mortals’; didn’t allow those he considered beneath him to act clingy and get snot and tears on his superior Asgardian winter-wear. He didn’t care about people, least of all Tony.

He didn’t care. 

“Again!”

“ _I swear I won’t._ ”

“...shut it off.”

The screen went dark instantly. Tony sat down heavily into the chair behind him, his head in his hands. “You already did,” he whispered to no one. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I have no idea where exactly I'm going with this now. What I do know, is that it's going to be a lot longer than I ever intended. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Doom had not, in fact, died. A pity, but Loki would not waste precious time rectifying that. Instead, he found himself squandering both his time _and_ seider spying on Stark. 

It still bothered him, much to his irritation, the way the mortal had begged to not be harmed by him. He had clearly been trapped in the memory of when Loki had grabbed him by the throat and thrown him from his tower; completely unaware of his true surroundings. Having spent over a thousand years fighting in wars, Loki was not unused to the terrors, the memories and unusual behaviors, that often followed his fellow warriors soon after exceptionally disturbing battles. It was a common occurrence on Asgard, more so on Midgard, and therefore should not mean anything to him. But it had been years since the invasion, and the fact that it was still having lasting effects on Stark did not sit well with him. 

He had tried stubbornly to rationalize it in his mind, to squash the lingering remorse he found there. They had been pitted against one another; the mortal stubbornly standing in the way of his goals. Loki had been desperate, Stark had been behaving like an utter imbecile, and-

_Please Loki, god no, please!_

…and yet it somehow caused him pain to think he had left that deep a scar in Stark’s consciousness. Saving him from Doom and comforting him in that one moment of panic eased his guilt slightly, but only just. 

He started watching the mortal, wanting to know the extent of the damage he had done, and, if he could not rectify it, what he could do at the very least to ease it.

In weeks of observing him, however, Loki found himself at a loss, Stark having shown no signs of obvious distress. He didn’t flinch when Thor placed his hand on the back of his neck as a sign of camaraderie, he accepted crushing embraces enthusiastically from the spider-child, and he often spent time viewing his city from the vast heights of his tower.

Loki was baffled.

The only indicator something was amiss lay in the fact that Stark rarely slept, ate, or did anything to properly take care of himself. His teammates often reminded him to leave his lab, encouraging 'self-care' and much needed 'beauty sleep', but their efforts were not nearly enough. 

Whether or not this strange behavior had anything to do with Stark’s breakdown was inconclusive.

Taking a risk, Loki decided to try negotiating with Stark’s artificial servant to find answers. 

  
  


He teleported onto an empty floor in Stark’s tower, rendering the alarms temporarily useless before they could even resound. “Peace,” he said, staring at the ceiling pointedly. “I do not mean you nor your master harm.” 

“ _That has yet to be seen, Mr. Liesmith_ ,” came a voice from seemingly everywhere in the room.

Loki smirked. “You are known as Jarvis, yes?” he asked, beginning to walk in a slow, calculated circle.

“ _That is correct_.” 

“And you know Tony Stark better than any other living being.”

There was a very weighted pause. “ _Yes_ ,” the AI finally responded tonelessly. “ _However, you are not privy to information regarding Mr. Stark._ _I suggest you leave._ ”

Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I respect that you are trying to protect your creator, but rest assured, my intentions are honorable. Even if they weren’t, I have already observed him even whilst your presence continues to guard the tower. There is not much I don’t already know of his habits.” 

“ _If that is true, then you have violated Mr. Stark’s privacy_. _I doubt there is anything more I could tell you. Leave, before I direct the Avenger’s to your location.”_

Loki sighed, coming to a stop. “I assume you already know of the mental breakdown Stark suffered during my brief partnership with Doom,” he pressed, getting to the point. “I wish to prevent a similar one from occurring.”

Another long pause. “ _I am afraid I do not understand. Mr. Stark, the Avengers, they are your enemies._ ”

“Stark called my name, pleaded for my mercy,” Loki said, allowing his discomfort to show. “I found it… disturbing.”

Jarvis remained silent for a few moments. “ _I believe I understand. However, that does not change the fact I cannot tell you anything regarding Sir without his express permission_.”

“Surely you could make an exception?”

“No, he can’t.”

Loki turned around quickly, cursing under his breath. Stark was standing in the elevator, arms crossed and glaring at him.

“Hey there Reindeer Games, care to tell what the fuck you’re doing in my house?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any insight?
> 
> I've written 'pushed to the brink of disaster' Tony and 'guilt-stricken' Loki before, but I want to make this more unique (sometimes, I look back on my fics and feel like I'm playing a broken record). Any feedback you guys would be willing to give me I would be much appreciated.
> 
> Anyvays, thx for stopping by, hope I'll get to read ya later!!!
> 
> \- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY ONE AND ALL -


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> I hope you like this knew chapter, I've decided to make it the second to last one. Enjoy!

Well, this was certainly an unexpected surprise.

Jarvis hadn’t said anything when he had taken the elevator - with Tony inside - to an empty floor in the tower rather than to his lab, but he was hardly complaining now. At first, he had assumed his faithful AI had simply been trying to force him to go to sleep after being up for more than thirty hours. The bastard knew full well why Tony couldn’t sleep yesterday, or today, and why he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tomorrow. This week was too hard, too painful, to remember.

Tony was currently fighting feelings of relief that Jarvis wasn’t trying to force him into nightmare land, given the fact Loki being in his house could be considered the bigger problem of the two.

On a different day this scenario might have been hilarious. Finding Loki under his roof, talking to his AI? Yeah, that definitely topped the time Mr. and Mrs. SHIELD - ie, Fury and Hill - had decided to make themselves comfortable in his office (they’d been helping themselves to his best scotch, too).

Today was not that kind of day.

“Seriously Green-Eyes,” Tony said, lifting his arm. His wristwatch quickly transformed into a gauntlet, wrapping itself securely around his hand. It pulsed gently against his palm, a comforting reminder that he was not helpless. He _wasn’t_. “I’m about twenty seconds from nuking your ass. Talk, or I send you to meet your maker.”

Loki visibly collected himself, expression shifting to one of boredom. “I highly doubt you would do that, given the fact you only just finished the last of the repairs from the most recent attack to your home.”

“Try me.”

It was true, Tony had only just gotten the last paint job done, but that hardly mattered. He would sooner forsake the tower and move to Malibu permanently if it meant getting rid of Loki. He hated security breaches like this, they fucking got under his skin and ruined perfectly good places to relax for him.

Annoyingly, the mage remained silent.

“So, you feel like talking to Jarvis behind my back about me, but won’t go straight to the source?” Tony taunted. He tsked, shaking his head. “For shame, princess, and here I thought you were smart. Guess everything Thor says about you is true.”

Loki’s face twitched. “Mind your words, _mortal_ ,” he growled.

“Make me,” Tony challenged, stepping forwards and into Loki’s space, holding the gauntlet up to his chin. Loki clenched his fists and glared down at him, but otherwise didn’t do anything. “Tell me what you’re doing here, and why you’re interrogating my AI. It’s that or get out.”

Loki still wouldn’t move. 

“Of course, if neither of those options suit you, I can always get Bruce to come down” Tony threatened. “I’ve been thinking about replacing the floor tiles in here anyway.”

Loki sneered at him, eyes glowing unnaturally in the light of the repulsor. “Incapable of defending yourself, Stark?” the mage taunted, baring his teeth in a snarl. “Even in your own home, surrounded by your creations, are you truly this helpless?”

Tony froze. Maybe it was the way Loki phrased that - _he’s not him, didn’t even come remotely close to anything he said that night, he’s_ ** _not_ **_him_ \- maybe it was the blue glow of the repulsor beam - _not the same color as the arc reactor, get a fucking grip_ \- but in that moment, everything was just too similar to that day, and Tony just… 

He just couldn’t.

Funny thing about panic attacks, they typically led to the heart beating a lot more; fight or flight kicking in and all that. It just added fuel to the fire for Tony. His heart would keep pounding harder and harder, too much, too fast. His own stupid body, unknowingly killing itself as it fought against the arc reactor, letting the metal shards in his chest edge closer to their intended destination. He could practically feel them now, cutting deep and true. They would hurt him, they would kill him, and he’d go falling into a sea of cold nothingness as he slowly suffocated.

The edges of Tony’s vision blurred, and his arm fell to his side. God, he couldn’t take it, couldn’t breathe, he was going to _die_ -

“Stark!?” Loki shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders as his knees began to give out.

Tony could hear, barely, over the ringing in his ears the sound of Jarvis talking. He couldn’t tell if his AI was speaking to him or Loki, but he found the sound soothing as his mind blissfully went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the love of god, I'm stuck at home with my family, I need interaction outside of them. 
> 
> please, Please, PLEASE leave a comment.
> 
> Read ya later!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no clue how this chapter got so long (or how I finished it so fast, geese). 
> 
> Anyvays, hope yall enjoy!

“Explain this, _now_ ,” Loki demanded.

He had moved Stark to his own floor and into his bed at the behest of Jarvis, but this was where his compliance ended. The mortal was still unconscious, but otherwise unharmed. Loki knew full well that if he hadn’t caught him mid-fall, however, his head very well may have connected with a piece of furniture, or, more likely, the unforgiving floor. Truly, it was infuriating how fragile Midgardians were, none more so than Stark, it seemed, collapsing as he had. 

All because Loki had mocked him. 

_Threatened him_ , a bitter part of his mind reminded. Norns, how could he have been so foolish? Letting his pride outweigh his sense; Thor could not have done worse than him. That being said, his poor choice of words and hostile behavior hardly explained Stark's reaction, and the man's AI owed him an explanation for his help.

He was still proving himself to be less than cooperative. 

“ _It appears Sir’s lack of sleep and sudden rush of adrenaline may likely have been the cause of his_ _loss of consciousness_ ,” Jarvis explained, infuriatingly calm.

“Do not patronize me,” Loki snarled. “There is clearly more going on than meets the eye, and I demand-”

Stark shifted slightly, groaning.

Loki paused to stare at him, unsure what he felt more, relief or concern, upon seeing that the man hadn’t actually awoken. 

“Do you honestly expect me to believe that your creator would remain an active part of the Avengers if this were a common occurrence?” he hissed, keeping his voice low. “I know something preys upon Stark’s mind, something in relation to _me_ , and you are a fool if you think to lie to the god who holds the namesake.”

A lamp flickered in the corner of the room, drawing Loki’s eye. He was sure that it was a sign of the AI’s irritation, or perhaps his unease.

“ _May we continue this conversation away from Sir’s range of hearing?_ ” Jarvis requested quietly. 

Loki hesitated, turning to stare at Stark’s helpless form. He no longer cared to hide how much concern he held for this mortal.

“ _I will continue to monitor him. No changes to his current state will be outside my awareness."_

Without replying, Loki exited the bed chambers. He paused for a moment as he stepped into the main room, taking in the space for the first time since he had arrived. Very little had been changed since the invasion, sans the floor in which the Hulk had beat him into clearly having been long since repaired. Further inspection of the space revealed lavish furnishings that spoke little of a person who lived there. Loki found it oddly reminiscent, how alike this room was to parts of the palace he had spent his childhood; hardly lived in.

“ _You are not wrong,”_ Jarvis began with, interrupting Loki’s thoughts. _“Sir’s collapse is not a common occurrence, though it is not an isolated one, either. That being said, you are not the sole factor of his… episodes. Today, in particular, was a very poor one for him to have an encounter with an enemy - in his own home, no less._ ”

Loki’s frown deepened. “What happened on this day to leave him so mentally vulnerable?” he questioned.

“ _In order to better answer your questions, I believe I will have to ask you one in turn_.”

Loki raised an eyebrow, waiting. A small, barely noticeable bout of static met his ears. It was almost as if Stark's artificial servant was sighing.

“ _Are you familiar with the name Obadiah Stane?_ ”

  
  
  


Tony groaned, rolling onto his stomach. He almost fell back asleep, but the realization that he was in his actual bed and not the couch in his lab, made him sit up.

 _Huh,_ he thought, _So I did eventually go to bed. Freaking Jarvis and his_ **_not_ ** _programmed mother-hen tendencies._

“J, time izzit?” he mumbled, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand.

“ _Eleven Thirty-Five pm, you have slept for approximately seven hours._ ”

Tony frowned as he tried to remember why he had gone to bed at… four o’clock in the afternoon? What?

“Jarvis, why did I-”

Then he remembered. 

“Oh shit,” he said, tossing his blankets aside and standing quickly. The action made him dizzy, and he sank back down onto the bed. “Where’s Loki?” he demanded as he pressed his face into his hands, fighting the lingering drowsiness his body clung to. 

“ _Mr. Liesmith vacated the premises roughly an hour after your collapse_.”

Tony looked up sharply. “I’m sorry, an _hour_? What the hell happened after I passed out?” 

Jarvis hesitated. “ _I believed Loki to be genuinely concerned for you, sir, so I allowed him to assist me in getting you to your bed._ ”

Tony could feel the blood draining from his face. “You let that bastard pick me up!?” he shouted. 

“ _Sir-_ ”

“No, what the fuck, Jarvis? How could you let that asshole touch me?”

“You were unconscious.”

Tony scrambled backward across his bed as Loki appeared in a fizzle, pop, _flash_ of green light. Fucking overdramatic asshole.

“The other Avengers were away, as well as the Lady Pepper,” Loki continued as if he hadn’t just magically teleported into Tony’s bedroom. “I was the only viable option, given the security protocols in place rendering anyone else’s attempt to enter the higher floors of the tower near impossible.”

Tony stared at him for a long moment, reminding himself that breathing was important. A second later Jarvis did as well, which earned him a concerned look from Loki. 

Tony really did not know what to make of this anymore. “I thought you were gone,” he finally remarked pointedly.

“I was,” Loki said, clasping his hands behind his back.

Tony sneered in an attempt to cover how uneasy he felt. “Oh, so you were watching me sleep from your creepy villain lair? Wow, I didn’t take you for a somnophiliac, Reindeer Games.”

Loki’s mouth fell open. He had the gall to look affronted. “You dare accuse me of something so revolting?” he demanded.

“If the horned shoe fits,” Tony growled. 

Loki took a menacing step forward, prompting Tony to keep backing up on his bed. Fuck, he was running out of mattress. “Stay the hell away from me,” he spat.

To his shock, the mage immediately stopped in his tracks, clenching his jaw and fists before sighing. “I am not here to harm you.”

His voice was softer than Tony would have thought him capable of a few weeks ago, if not for his helmet cam footage. Still, it was different, watching something on a screen as opposed to hearing it in person.

“Why are you here? What do you _want?_ ” he asked, not sure if he really wanted the answer.

Loki glanced behind himself, waving a green armchair into existence and sitting down. “I had merely been observing you in order to make certain you awoke without any complications, but when you began turning your ire on Jarvis, I felt I should come and explain myself properly. I owe you, and him, as much.”

Tony stared at him assessingly, thinking. “Is this an Asgardian honor-bound thing?”

Loki shook his head. “No,” he said. “Merely a debt I wish to repay.” He looked at Tony imploringly. “Will you allow me to stay and do so?”

Tony thought about the pro's and con's of his situation for a moment. On the one hand, Jarvis was trusting the guy. On the other, psychotic, unpredictable bag of cats. In the end, his decision came down to one simple fact: Loki was letting him choose - giving him an out.

Like hell he was going to take it.

He allowed himself to relax slightly, moving his legs into a sort of criss-cross, applesauce position. “This is fucking weird,” he stated once he had settled. “But, yeah. You can stay." At Loki's relieved expression, he hurried to clarify. "Just not in my bedroom.”

Loki stood. “Very well,” he said. “I will leave you to sort yourself to rights. Take as much time as you need."

Tony watched as he walked out of the room. Once he was sure the Mage was out of earshot, he sighed. “J?”

“ _Yes sir?”_

“We are going to have a very long, _very_ hard talk about this later.”

“ _Of course._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment comment comment comment comment comment PLEASE (my sanity is hanging by a thread here)
> 
> Read ya later!!!


End file.
